A white powder that forced the evacuation of the Warren district court and the quarantine of four employees Monday was not a hazardous substance, a court official said.

Preliminary tests of the substance found in an envelope and tested by a Warren Fire Department HAZMAT crew determined it is baby powder, Court Administrator Robert Curtis said.

The powder will still be sent to a lab for more extensive testing, but the findings of the preliminary analysis were a relief to Curtis and three court staffers who either handled, or were close to the powdery mail.

“It’s a little scary,” he said. “This is stuff you read in the paper, and to have it in your office, it’s a little surreal.”

Warren police ordered the evacuation at approximately 10 a.m. Monday as a precaution that the powder was possibly hazardous.

Investigators are focusing on a court envelope and a second item of mail placed inside it by an employee last week.

Officials said mail from Chrysler Group LLC and intended to be sent to an unidentified person with an address that does not match the court’s address on Common Road, was wrongly delivered to the court last week. A court employee placed the Chrysler mail into a court envelope which was forwarded to the intended recipient. But the court’s mailing was returned back to the courthouse last Friday and marked undeliverable, but remained unopened until a court employee opened it after weekend mail was sorted Monday.

“When she opened the envelope, a little puff of smoke came out,” Curtis said.

He said the employee then brought the outer envelope to his office and he placed into a plastic bag and sealed it. Using paper towel, he then retrieved the Chrysler mail, which also had white powder on it, from a garbage can.

Police ordered the building to be evacuated. Employees were sent to the neighboring Warren police headquarters, until they were notified the court was closed for the day and they could go home.

However, Curtis and the three staffers were ordered to remain inside the court building, located east of Van Dyke and north of 12 Mile Road, to be examined while not immediately showing any signs of illness or physical reaction to the powder. Nobody was taken to the hospital, Curtis said.

A Warren Fire Department HAZMAT team put on protective suits and prepared to enter the courthouse around noon.

U.S. Postal Service inspectors and FBI agents were contacted by Warren police and arrived at the scene. The FBI has taken over the investigation, police said.

“Of course with current events and the way things are nowadays, we err on the side of caution,” Police Commissioner Jere Green said. “We’ve been in contact with the FBI because obviously they have protocol in these type of (incidents).”

“As far as who’s responsible for the powder, I don’t know who put the powder in it,” said Curtis, who estimated the volume of the powder as one-quarter teaspoon.

The envelopes used by the court are ordered by the city from a company he declined to identify.

Suspected criminals taken into custody over the weekend are expected to be arraigned throughout Monday afternoon at the Warren police lockup.

The Warren division of the 37th District Court – the court also has a division in Warren – likely will re-open Tuesday, Curtis said.